Augustus Freeman (Dakotaverse)
, received equivalent education in Cooperative law | Origin = An alien who crash landed on earth in 1800's and was was brought up as a human slave who eventually became a superhero. | PlaceOfBirth = Terminus | Creators = Dwayne McDuffie; Denys Cowan | First = Icon #1 | Quotation = Justice is either for everyone, or no one. | Speaker = Icon | HistoryText = In 1839, an alien starliner malfunctioned and exploded, and a jettisoned lifepod crashed in the middle of a cotton field in the American South. The pod automatically altered the appearance of its passenger named Arnus to mimic the first sentient life-form who discovered him. That life-form was a slave woman named Miriam, who saw the pod crash land. And so it happened that Miriam found inside a baby boy with her mother's eyes. In the present, Arnus is still with us. He did not age visibly beyond adulthood; to disguise this fact, he periodically assumed the identity of his own son. By the late 20th century, he was posing as Augustus Freeman IV, the great-grandson of his original human identity. Still marooned, Augustus waits for Earth's technology to catch up to his lifepod's. Secretly possessing superpowers that belie his human appearance, he has always performed quiet acts of charity. But one night, Augustus' house is broken into, and he uses his powers for the first time in decades, an action witnessed by Raquel Ervin. Raquel is an idealistic teenage girl who was born in Paris Island, the poorest, most gang-ridden neighborhood in Dakota. Her prospects seemed fairly bleak until a chance encounter with Augustus Freeman IV. After seeing him use his powers, Raquel persuaded Augustus to become a superhero named Icon, with herself as his sidekick, Rocket. Augustus is portrayed as a very intelligent, somewhat stiff kind of person. Due to his upper-class job as a big time lawyer and "proper" way of speaking; is often criticized as being a "sell out" or "white washed". He usually prefers to do everything by the book instead of acting on instinct. During the majority of his series, Icon mostly fought plain street criminals and those who gained powers from Dakota's ''Big Bang''. | Powers = Unique Physiology: Icon's lifepod altered his DNA so he would resemble a normal human being, thus enabling him to blend among Earth's natives. A side effect of this process was the maximization of his now human/alien genetic structure. Thus, Icon possesses a variety of superhuman abilities that are unusual even for a Terminan. *'Superhuman Strength': Icon possesses vast superhuman strength that is nearly on par with Superman's.This means he can lift far in the excess of 100,000 tons effortlessly. *'Superhuman Speed and Reflexes': Icon possesses the ability to think, move, and react at superhuman speeds. *'Superhuman Stamina': Icon possesses highly efficient musculature which produces almost no fatigue toxins, granting him almost limitless stamina in all physical activities. *'Flight': Icon flies by manipulation of gravitons, manipulation of magnetic fields, control of his absolute molecular movement, and utilizing his superhuman speed. Icon can fly far beyond supersonic speeds, but it is unknown if he can achieve nearly the speed of light. *'Enhanced Senses': Icon possesses superhuman senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. *'Enhanced Mental Perception': Icon possesses the ability to sense & comprehend things on levels that far exceed human capabilities. *'Invulnerability': Icon seems to possess nigh-invulnerability, being capable of withstanding tremendous impact forces, high caliber bullets, exposure to temperature and pressure extremes, and powerful energy blasts without sustaining injury. Icon's invulnerability has not been portrayed consistently. If he is not expecting an attack, he can be injured more easily. For example, he once sustained a bloody nose from getting hit in the face with the butt of a rifle that surprised him. After being injured by Payback, Icon began wearing alien body armor to grant him further protection. . However, in a fight with Superman, he took numerous blows from the Man of Steel and was able to match his endurance. *'Accelerated Healing': Despite his nigh invulnerability, it is possible to injured Icon. In such instances, his body is capable of quickly repairing damaged tissue with much greater speed and efficiency that the normal human body. *'Energy Generation': Icon has the ability to generate and control a radiant energy based on positrons. He can manipulate this energy for various effects. :*''Concussive Force Bolts: Icon can release positron energy from his hands as bolts of concussive force. A low power force bolt can flick on a light switch while a force bolt at maximum power can stagger Superman. :*Stun Bolts: Icon can project low-energy bolts that render human beings unconscious by disrupting the electrical impulses in their nervous systems. Icon can also use these bolts like an electromagnetic pulse to overload electronic devices. :*Energy Enhanced Punches: Icon can focus positron energy into his fists, which he can then use to shatter virtually any substance. :*Energy Pulse: Icon can release all of his body's positron energy as a massive omnidirectional pulse of devastating power. :*Positron Field: Icon can detect the presence of Bang Babies within his vicinity by flooding an area with a field of positrons. The field interacts with the invisible quantum well surrounding a Bang Baby, who then glows as he or she gives off mild gamma particles. Hence, Icon can use these fields to distinguish Bang Babies from other metahumans as well as normal humans :*Force Field: Icon can use positrons to create quasi-solid energy fields to entrap opponents. According to Cooperative scientists, Icon's powers are abilities that all humans will possess once they evolve past their limitations. 'Terminan Physiology' *'Decelerated Aging: Icon possesses extraordinary longevity, enabling him to age at a vastly slower rate than that human beings. Hence, though centuries old, he appears to be no older than forty. Icon's lifespan is typical for a Terminan and the only power that is not the result of his genetic maximization. | Abilities = [[Skills#Law|'''Expert Lawyer]]: Icon is among the Cooperative’s most celebrated mediators. He has extensive knowledge of the Cooperative legal system as well as decades of experience in his chosen field. Icon is an equally adept corporate lawyer due to his mediator background and a century’s worth of experience in American law. [[Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)|'Master Combatant']]: Icon is also a formidable combatant, whose fighting skills rival those of Superman. Icon is well trained in unarmed and armed combat, having fought in major conflicts ranging from the Civil War to World War II. Some opponents underestimate Icon’s abilities since he tries to peacefully settle disputes before pummeling his foes. [[Multilingualism|'Bilingual']]: Icon is fluent in English and Galactic Standard, the native language of the Cooperative. | Strength = Icon possesses vast superhuman strength, putting him almost in the same class as Superman. | Weaknesses = | Equipment = Icon wears a costume composed of alien materials that grant him further protection from projectile weaponry, energy beams, and intense heat or cold. On his command, the Info Tool aboard his starship uses its Maker to construct Icon's costume over his civilian clothing (see Transportation). When no longer needed, the costume is disassembled, converted back to energy, and stored in the structural files of his ship's Info Tool. | Transportation = For interstellar journeys, Icon employs his personal starship that is a gift from the Cooperative. Like all Cooperative vessels, Icon's starship is equipped with a faster-than-light drive that allows it to shift into the realm called Hyperspace. Within hyperspace, the speed of light is not a limiting factor and thus cannot prevent the starship from quickly traversing interstellar distances. Icon's starship is also equipped with cloaking technology that can render the vessel invisible to both the human eye and all forms of Earthly electronic surveillance. When not in use, Icon stores his starship in his "garage," a hangar located beneath his mansion’s swimming pool. The pool slides out of the way to provide easy entry or exit for the ship. Icon's starship contains a range of highly advanced Cooperative technology. Two notable items are the Information Tool and the Maker. Icon's starship is equipped with a local access system that links directly with the Information Tool or "Info Tool." The Info Tool is a computerized database of virtually everything anyone within the Cooperative knows. It even contains very detailed files on the cultures, languages, history and technology of Sol III (Earth) thanks to Icon's accounts of his life on the planet. The Info Tool acquires new information from written documents, verbal accounts, and visual data inputs. The database can even scan an item (organic or inorganic) and store its molecular structure within files called "software." Apart from storing and retrieving data, the local access to the Info Tool can also link to and control any computer-operated device or system. This includes Cooperative technology like the starship's Maker to terrestrial technology like phone lines or lights. Because of all the data it has accumulated over the millennia, the Info Tool is truly self-aware and even has a personality of sorts. The Info Tool relies on verbal inputs to receive commands to perform certain functions. In terms of information retrieval, the Tool can respond either verbally or by displaying its findings via holographic imagers aboard the starship. The Info Tool remains in contact with Icon via a communicator hidden in his costume. The communicator's maximum range is unknown. The Maker is a molecular factory that can construct any physical item, molecule by molecule, from structural data files stored within the Info Tool. These data files are called "software" while the objects created by the Maker are known as "hardware." The Maker operates by tapping the vast energies of the reactor for Icon's starship and converting them into matter used for the construction of hardware. The Maker can create any item, terrestrial or extraterrestrial, in a matter of seconds as long as its structure is on file within the Info Tool. These include medicines, machinery (e.g., vehicles), clothing, and even food. The Maker can repair or modify constructed hardware by altering its molecular structure according to the whims of its user. The Maker can also rearrange the molecular structure of items it did not create in order to change their appearance or function. To do so, the Info Tool must first scan the structure of the object to be modified. For example, Icon employed the Maker to build the starship garage beneath his mansion's swimming pool. Icon's starship has numerous projectors through which the Maker can construct hardware within the vessel. To build an item outside the vessel, the Maker relies on a special probe mounted on the underside of the starship. It is the probe that facilitates the Maker repairing or remodeling Icon's possessions over great distances. Icon has often employed this feature to repair any damage to his costume. | Weapons = | Notes = * Icon held conservative views on economic and social issues, which often put him in conflict with more liberal Milestone Comics superheroes, including Rocket. Under Rocket's influence, he eventually began re-evaluating his views. * Icon is a conservative Republican and presumably has been a member of the GOP since the United States' Reconstruction period. * Icon is a strong believer in the self-reliance philosophy of Booker T. Washington. Considering Icon's age, it would not be surprising if he personally knew Washington. * Icon #1 announced a contest, where readers answered the question "Is this comic book about Augustus Freeman IV, marooned space alien, or Raquel Ervin, budding writer in a tough neighborhood, or both?" The winning letter, printed in Icon #9, was selected because it "captured the essence of the book. The ICON series is about both characters as seen through the eyes and told through the voice of Rocket." * Because of the superficial similarity of his powers and origin story, Icon was sometimes referred to as the "black Superman." The letters page in Icon #2 includes three letters making this reference. The dismissive editorial response begins, "I think the resemblance doesn't go much beyond Augustus being a 'strange visitor from another planet.'" In conclusion, "If the Hero of Dakota was in any way inspired by the Superman mythos, it was because RAQUEL was inspired, not any of US!". * Icon was nominated for three Eisners and is a three-time winner of Parents' Choice Award honors. * Warren Gibson of Rochester, N.Y., wrote a long and thoughful letter to Midtown Comics regarding Icon. So long, in fact it was 33 pages and they couldn't fit it inside the 32-paged book, let alone the letters page. In the letter he likened Icon to a physical manifestation of Black History, then explained in great detail how Augustus Freeman could have been the inspiration for or deciding factor of countless events in the past.http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Icon_Vol_1_5 | Trivia = * Comic book fan and Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas, cites Icon's self-titled book as one of his favorites. http://funnybookbabylon.com/2009/01/15/how-comics-books-really-fell-to-the-liberals/ * While he did not appear onscreen, Augustus Freeman was referred to several times in the Static Shock cartoon through the names of various centers and organizations, notably the Dakota-based Freeman Community Centre. | Recommended = * | Wikipedia = Icon (comics) | Links = * Icon at International Hero * Icon at the Museum of Black Superheroes }} Category:Shadow Cabinet members Category:Aliens Category:Enhanced Senses Category:Flight Category:Invulnerability Category:Superhuman Strength Category:Energy Projection Category:Self-Sustenance Category:Enhanced Senses Category:Lawyers Category:Independently Wealthy Category:Decelerated Aging Category:Milestone Media Category:Dakotaverse Category:Multilingualism Category:Super-Speed Category:1993 Character Debuts